do exactly as it says on the tin?
Bought a flat barred road bike at the weekend & it has some unbranded brake calipers which I don't expect very much from, so which calipers should I be looking to replace them with? 85kg rider, riding in all weather round the hilly chilterns - quite happy with Shimano LX mtb kit so nothing bling required, just needs to work & not need constant tweeking.
Bought a [s]flat barred road bike[/s] hybrid at the weekend & it has some unbranded brake calipers which I don't expect very much from, so which calipers should I be looking to replace them with?
Have you actually tested them yet?
Have you actually tested them yet?
Yes & no - they have been fitted with XT vee brake levers & are therefore awful, shimano flat bar levers on order but experience with unbranded MTB stuff has been pretty poor & expecting these to be mush the same
105 should do you fine, check the depth though - you may have deep drop calipers which are a special model from shimano.
Agreed most unbranded brakes are ****.
105 should do you fine, check the depth though
thanks - should be normal, very close clearances from what I can see, despite what realman says it is a road bike with flat bars 😉
i seem to have in my head that v brake levers will be crap with any caliper as the leverage is wrong. I may be totally wrong though.
I like Campag calipers but any half decent shimano, sram, campag will do the job.
I think you'll find, like all 12 year olds, Realman is right 😉
HS77 calipers and HS33 levers.
Look on fleabay, listed between rocking horse poo and hen's teeth.
And I agree with realman too...
it may not be the levers - get some good quality pads before lashing out cash on replacement levers (like koolstop or similar) as the cheap ones really are rubbish
Agree with real man but campag brakes are flipping good
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mrmo - you are correct in your thinking & I've already ordered the correct Shimano flat bar levers - only £12
Just wondered where the step in performance comes in road bike stuff, in the same way that my mtb experience tells me that LX is usually man enough for the job with XT adding more frills but at excessive price hike & XTR more so but usually has worthwhile weight saving.
ie is 105 really worth the extra over Tiagra? & are there any good alternatives?
IMHO hybrids generally have vee brakes but if it keeps you all happy I will bow to your superior knowledge & give myself 5 lashes before bedtime 😳
IME Sora and Viagra aren't far off 105 but others have said otherwise on here.
You could get campag which would REALLY piss off the roadies 😉
The CNC brakes from planet x are nicer than anything else I've used on a road bike inc Dura ace 7800,7900.
Loads of power + modulation and light weight.
If you already have the right levers on order i would try a set o Koolstop or Swiss stop pads, cheaper than a new set of calipers. If that doesn't do it then look at 105 and above for a set of calipers. More doesn't just get better calipers in braking terms, but they are also get more durable, bushings become bearings etc.
I have just bought some swiss stop pads for my lowly tektro road calipers and they have made a massive difference well worth the £20 a set.
You could get campag which would REALLY piss off the roadies
It's an unbranded frame in a nice metallic blue which I'm thinking of getting stickered up as "Tesco BSO" which along with the LX shifters, Ultegra chainset & XTR rapid rise rear mech should ruffle a few feathers
Edit - got some Koolstop pads on my current road based MTB & yes they are very good, will look up those Planet X brakes too - thanks for all the positive comments 😉
If that doesn't do it then look at 105 and above for a set of calipers. More doesn't just get better calipers in braking terms, but they are also get more durable, bushings become bearings etc.
Thats the sort of thing I was after finding out, thanks again mrmo
i'd not run shimano calipers again after using SRAM ones, got Apex on the commuter with swisstop pads fitted from the factory and much better performance than my 105s with swisstop greens
on and on - Member
The CNC brakes from planet x are nicer than anything else I've used on a road bike inc Dura ace 7800,7900.
Loads of power + modulation and light weight.
+1 to this. I've got the same ones (branded "Kurve" before PX started importing them) and they really are very good. Excellent modulation, very powerful and easy to set up.
iirc the newer Shimano road brake calipers require more pull from the levers.
Certainly not with some of the [i]older[/i] 105 calipers - which I've found to be very average performing.
It's worth checking lever compatibility with newer Shimano road calipers.